Monday, April 22, 2013

We always love to listen to music no matter what we are doing. From work to leisure music is a constant companion, relaxing the mind allowing it to be more focused and thereby more creative. Music truly is with us all the time in the clear flowing water to the chirping of sparrows, to the notification that someone is calling or messaging you (thanks to technology and ringtones).

Music has been a blessing for me. As a child I suffered with severe headache episodes. My entire family of doctors across streams of Allopathy,Ayurveda and Homeopathy couldn't cure me. Some said it was migraine, some diagnosed it as some other ailment, but in the end no therapy could relieve me. Around the same time as I was growing I started listening to A.R.Rahamns music. His music was different, experimental and soothing. When Taal released (I believe that is his best creation and deserved highest accolades such as Oscar), I listened to the audio-cassette (yes CD's weren't used then) everyday. When I had the headache episodes I would go into isolation with just Rahaman Sir's music and that soothed me. I started recovering, lesser episodes and now I rarely get them. It was the healing power of music that took me out of those episodes. Now music therapy has developed as an elegant, methodical medical science curing fatal diseases such as Alzheimers, Cancer, AIDS. A detailed account with references of this in my previous, pre-meet post on music (http://thereaderscosmos.blogspot.in/2013/04/music-in-my-lifemusic-therapy.html).

Therefore its no surprise that when the HP Connected Music indiblogger meet was announced, I was in seventh heaven and eagerly looking forward to it. It was my second Indiblogger meet and the theme was best ever possible "music". I reached the venue and got myself mingling with other bloggers within minutes. Blogging is truly a religion that binds us. It was great to meet new people each writing about different stuff all bound by the thread of blogging. The crowd kept growing and finally the meet began.

The best part was that there was a blogging contest before the meet and they awarded all the bloggers who wrote about music with sexy HP earphones. Though I too submitted an entry for the same, mine wasn't enlisted may be because I submitted it post the time limit 00:00 hours on 19th April :P. I hope this time both my entries will be considered. I am writing well in time.

In this meet the organizers were innovative in giving us cards with numbers rather than their algorithm which I know from peoples experience pics the same names mostly. It was a special day for me as I finally got a chance to introduce myself, and that meant many people remembering me and contacting me on facebook later (now we are friends thanks to Indiblogger). The introductions too had a fun component that every third blogger got a chance to with the awesome comparer Prateek Shah and do some funny activity, there was a moon walk, guys couple dance, sunny deol dance, gangnam style,etc which were hilarious.

Then began the reason for the meet "The HP Connected Music" talk. The presentation was short and sweet, also they were methodical in inviting interested people to just experience it rather than go on and on about it. The features I loved are many. To begin with, the aim with which it started, when one downloads songs one cannot do it without having some unethical content popping up on the screen; therefore making it an undoable job at office or home unless one starts hiding the screen. Virus free downloads, original CD quality music, online playlists, and the best part the collection of ten million songs all for free for an year. I would surely love to try it, but I do not have an HP laptop(I really hope HP people really love this post and gift me one :P). Everything apart on a serious note if all your songs are at one place it would be great and that too for free. One does not have to download everything one may listen to just sometimes and junk ones computer with it, simply save it in your playlist online. One can also create multiple playlists for occasions like party, bhajans etc. Its the purest ,hastle free music experience.

I would also love have some features on this portal and want to share with HP if they can add them. They should allow bands (as in any band who composes music with some quality standards ofcourse) to upload their music and may or may not charge them for the same(depending on their business model). The reason I request this is there are some,not much known music bands people do love, like I have loved Rishikesh, Advaita etc. and these people upload there videos on other sites which are not as great and have virus free etc. features. It will also gives these artists a platform and us enthusiasts such as myself one universal portal
for all our music needs. After all India is young country, buzzing with
energy and talent which deserves it all.

Although the prize is just for blogging abut HP, I would also love to add that the food at the end of the meet was delicious and awesome. Hilton Garden Inn Gurgaon deserves an applause for the same. Sweets especially the chocolate cup sandesh, the cute little bread,cheese and pineapple fillers and the assorted flavours of tea was a treat. With our stomachs satisfied and heart happy, we saw people winning laptops for twitter contest, congratulations to them, had great photography session (227 of them to be precise, uploaded now on Indiblogger facebook page http://www.facebook.com/indipage?fref=ts), grabbed our Tshirsts and headed home merrily with many of our new found friends generously giving each other lifts. We came alone, went together, our facebook friend-list has more amazing people now, and all we hope is to meet in another IndiBlogger really soon. As I end this post classical fusion music by my favourite band "Advaita" called "Rasiya" continues to mesmerize me.

This article is about The HP Connected Music IndiBlogger Meet at Hilton Garden Inn, Gurgaon on the 20th of April 2013.